When Men Experience Sexism?

The statement by Berlatsky (2013), “Women have been fighting against sexism for a long time. If men can learn from them, it will be to everyone’s benefit”, means that men should emulate women in efforts to fight sexism that is often overlooked in men. Men should emulate women, both in effort and organization, in the fight against discrimination and the prejudice of sexism in the society. According to Drury & Kaiser (2014), sexism is the unjust treatment or bias against a person on the basis of their gender. Men too can suffer from discrimination. For instance, Berlatsky (2013) point out that physical violence to alimony payments, and child custody in divorce cases are some of the examples that illustrate that men too can be victims of discrimination in the society. These cases of outright sexism are normally taken as normal when they happen to men. Therefore, if men embrace a similar attitude about fighting sexism as women have, then they would create an awareness and reap benefits in a bid to sensitize people of the cons of sexism and eradicate it from the society.

Women have had a long history of fighting against discrimination and prejudices which if men were to take the same stance, the issue of sexism against men would be publicized for funding and research. Due to the increasing gender stereotypes, the issue is even of greater concern to everyone, first among them men. Berlatsky (2013) state that in recent years, women have been at the forefront in fighting the gendercide results of sexual violence and rape against women leading to increased awareness. However, the way gendercide sexism is directed at men is less discussed as men fear taking roles that can be seen as feminine. This hinders awareness and growth of the society as one unit in the fight against sexism against men.

Indeed, men should be vigorous and active so that their claims against gender violence are denigrated. Men usually tend to impose upon their own gender stereotypes connected to pressure that aim to conform the healthy lives of the youngsters such are many boys (Berlatsky, 2013). However, there are men who will feel vulnerable and suffer due to a rigorous form of femininity. The specific boundaries on how a man should behave are checked by both sexism and homophobia. As such, men should always stick to the stereotype. Men should not suffer in silence when it comes to sexism. The fact remains, men should play a leading role in standing up against the prejudice, just like women have, to the benefit of all (Drury & Kaiser, 2014).

Cite this page